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The liberal advocacy group Progress Florida is conducting a poll on its website regarding the status of Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, who recently became a vice president at Northwest Florida State College.

Sansom has been blasted by newspaper editorial boards throughout the Sunshine State for accepting the job at his alma mater after helping provide $25 million in appropriations for the school earlier this year.

Among the questions Progress Florida asks are: Should Sansom resign from either his job at Northwest Florida State College, or as House Speaker, be censured by the House for unethical conduct, or nothing at all?

The groupâs targeting of the speaker comes after state Democrats â well, at least party Chairwoman Karen Thurman - came out and called for Sansom to step aside from one of his two jobs.

Curiously, no member of the Legislature â Republican, or Democrat â has had much to say about Sansomâs situation, perhaps because of the power that he now holds as speaker.

Sansom is now the vice president for development and planning at Northwest Florida State College. It is a job that was never advertised, and no other applications were accepted.

Comments

my motto: Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Governmen
Deb Arnason about over 6 years ago
As a person who has fought long and hard for environment, social justice and democracy here in Florida - I am opposed to any of the huge conflicts of interest and anti-trust violations, mainly by Republicans, over the past 8 years. Representative Sansom should immediately quit BOTH of his jobs and look for honest work in some other area. Yes, he should be censured AND removed if he refuses to resign.

No evidence of impropriety
Glenn Pendergrass about over 6 years ago
Yesâ¦ Speaker Sansom and his wife attended Northwest Florida State College aka Okaloosa-Walton Junior College where he received his Associates. He served on the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners from 1992-2000â¦ Okaloosa is his home and Chairwoman Thurman doesnât say that Speaker Sansom did anything wrong. She simply says âThe appearance of impropriety is too greatâ¦â And just what are those appearances? Instead of a $1M appropriation, Mr. Sansom is said to have âfunneledâ $25M into his alma materâ¦ why would he increase that appropriation?
ââ¦In 2007, the Pappas Consulting Group published its analysis of the State University System, with recommendations for improvements. The Pappas report noted that Florida has the largest number of community colleges offering baccalaureate degree programs in the country; that the state should place more emphasis on increasing these degrees; and that there are advantages to the community college baccalaureate degree as a way for more students to access higher education in Floridaâ¦â
ââ¦Nine colleges, operating as the Pilot Project, will collaborate with the Florida College System Task Force and will make recommendations for a baccalaureate degree program approval process, criteria for transition of an institution from a community college to a state college, and the development of the funding model for the new state collegesâ¦â
And Northwest Florida State College is one of them.
Some have pointed to the lack of a posted position as an improprietyâ¦ when asked about this NWF State College President Bob Richburg said, "I have the authority to hire temporary full time (up to a year) and then go through a posting process." If Sansom does a poor job, the position could open up in 2010.
What is Northwest Florida State College getting for that $110,000? Not only is Mr. Sansom doing the exact job as his retired predecessor, Jim Chitwood, but they have added:
ââ¦assist Richburg in preparing for the training, education, and support responsibilities that will come with the relocation of the U.S. Army's 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Eglin Air Force Base and the opening of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Training Center at Eglin by 2011â¦ Sansom also will formalize agreements with local governments for training emergency personnel and for the use of the college's Community Services Complex during natural disasters. The 120,000-square-foot facility now under construction at the Niceville campus will house the Okaloosa County 911 Emergency Operations Center, college athletic and instructional programs and serve as the county's primary hurricane shelterâ¦â
And NFS will not be giving Mr. Sansom health care benefits during this period.
Some have sited the coincidental timing of both appointmentsâ¦ as for when the announcement was made by the school,
ââ¦the college's governing Board of Trustees appointed Sansom to the position November 18 at the board's regular meeting in Nicevilleâ¦â
Againâ¦ No evidence of impropriety.

No evidence of impropriety
Glenn Pendergrass about over 6 years ago
Yesâ¦ Speaker Sansom and his wife attended Northwest Florida State College aka Okaloosa-Walton Junior College where he received his Associates. He served on the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners from 1992-2000â¦ Okaloosa is his home and Chairwoman Thurman doesnât say that Speaker Sansom did anything wrong. She simply says âThe appearance of impropriety is too greatâ¦â And just what are those appearances? Instead of a $1M appropriation, Mr. Sansom is said to have âfunneledâ $25M into his alma materâ¦ why would he increase that appropriation?
ââ¦In 2007, the Pappas Consulting Group published its analysis of the State University System, with recommendations for improvements. The Pappas report noted that Florida has the largest number of community colleges offering baccalaureate degree programs in the country; that the state should place more emphasis on increasing these degrees; and that there are advantages to the community college baccalaureate degree as a way for more students to access higher education in Floridaâ¦â
ââ¦Nine colleges, operating as the Pilot Project, will collaborate with the Florida College System Task Force and will make recommendations for a baccalaureate degree program approval process, criteria for transition of an institution from a community college to a state college, and the development of the funding model for the new state collegesâ¦â
And Northwest Florida State College is one of them.
Some have pointed to the lack of a posted position as an improprietyâ¦ when asked about this NWF State College President Bob Richburg said, "I have the authority to hire temporary full time (up to a year) and then go through a posting process." If Sansom does a poor job, the position could open up in 2010.
What is Northwest Florida State College getting for that $110,000? Not only is Mr. Sansom doing the exact job as his retired predecessor, Jim Chitwood, but they have added:
ââ¦assist Richburg in preparing for the training, education, and support responsibilities that will come with the relocation of the U.S. Army's 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Eglin Air Force Base and the opening of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Training Center at Eglin by 2011â¦ Sansom also will formalize agreements with local governments for training emergency personnel and for the use of the college's Community Services Complex during natural disasters. The 120,000-square-foot facility now under construction at the Niceville campus will house the Okaloosa County 911 Emergency Operations Center, college athletic and instructional programs and serve as the county's primary hurricane shelterâ¦â
And NFS will not be giving Mr. Sansom health care benefits during this period.
Some have sited the coincidental timing of both appointmentsâ¦ as for when the announcement was made by the school,
ââ¦the college's governing Board of Trustees appointed Sansom to the position November 18 at the board's regular meeting in Nicevilleâ¦â
Againâ¦ No evidence of impropriety.